All-American Rejects Invade ‘Today’

Posted 07/17/2009 2:02:45 pm
by MTV News.

By Haley Murphy

After their electric performance of “I Wanna” on “It’s On With Alexa Chung,” the All-American Rejects came back to New York to hit the stage of the “Today” Show Concert Series this morning. Fans circled the NBC building — some who had been waiting since 5 a.m. — in hopes of meeting the band during their warm-ups.

Frontman Tyson Ritter came onstage before the rest of the band and was quite chipper for his 7 a.m. call. The band busted through some Beatles covers and singing Kenny Loggins‘ “Danger Zone” before chatting with Matt Lauer. During the interview, Ritter flashed the crowd his tattoo of the band’s logo (each band member has one), located on his chest.

The crowd went wild when the band launched into their hit single “Gives You Hell,” and guitarist Mike Kennerty finished the song by throwing his guitar pick to an adoring fan. I was able to get close to the band — so close that Ritter nearly fell on me while attempting to jump off the stage into the crowd during “I Wanna.” During commercial breaks, the band would go offstage and into the crowd to keep the energy alive, and took time to sign autographs. The greatest moment came when Ritter and guitarist Nick Wheeler whipped off a version of their breakout tune “Swing Swing,” which got everybody singing along — including the “Today” camera crew!